A Friend, A Hero
by The Screed Collective
Summary: An experimental scene based around the death of the character Jade, set in the near end of Lost Hopes of a Trio. Written by Hyperjade and Raven the Dragon. Please read the story for a more detailed and formal explanation.
**Hello everyone, WesternFail here. Now, you might be wondering what is the meaning of this random chapter, well, allow me to explain. A few month back, we had this idea of writing a mass collaboration story, and that idea soon expanded into a full blown story, as you might know by its name, _The Lost Hopes of a Trio._ But after the first chapter is released, the writing process for the second chapter is constantly halted and unusually slow, mainly due to the fact that we have our own projects to deal with and difficulties in gathering the required writers to finish a scene. We tried, really tried to continue writing this story. But in the end, we just couldn't do it.**

 **After multiple discussion on the topic of this story, we have formed the decision to end** ** _The Lost Hopes of a Trio permanently,_ we were reluctant to say this but, there is no other way. You have our most sincere apologies.**

 **I, on behalf of the Screed, thank you for all of your patience and support for this story.**

 **This chapter was intended as a farewell gift to you, written by _Hyperjade_ and _Raven the Dragon_ as an experimental scene for the future, involving the death of Jade. A piece of marvelous and emotional writing, I hope you will enjoy it.**

 **Again, we are very sorry for any inconvenience caused by our decision.**

 **WesternFail Signing out... For the last time...**

* * *

(Post fight scene between Jade (in control) and Raven (controlled by Mesprit.)

(This scene is one of the options that could occur within the story, and we can either plan for it, or… Just notice it nearing that point and putting it in. )

Raven stood above the battered and bleeding Jade. Fueled by the emotions of Mesprit, Raven was nearly unscathed. She stood, awaiting orders, but her attention was drawn by Jade.

The absol lay on his stomach, bleeding far too much. His wounds would overcome him in mere minutes, ending the pain that Mesprit found herself struggling to keep Raven from sensing with her riolu abilities.

"Raven…" He murmured "you've grown strong."

Raven froze as Mesprit found herself being contested by a massive surge of emotion. The lake guardian recoiled at the force.

"Strong enough to defeat myself, who has traveled for so long. Even if you had no choice… I'm proud of you, Raven. You always considered yourself a weakling, and I have always told you otherwise. Now, have you proven it to yourself?

"...-" Raven began, but was interrupted by Mesprit forcing her influence down on her warrior again. The riolu responded immediately to the emotional stimuli, freezing again. Mesprit was her master. Mesprit was the one she trusted, would do anything for.

But it was not to be so for Mesprit. "No use in finishing me off. I'll die soon enough." Jade murmured, his eyes closed. "I don't care who wins this unnecessary and bloody war any longer." he continued, his head dropping to the ground

Pain. Dull acceptance. Resignation. Raven staggered back from the force of it all. Mesprit realized that he was directly focusing those emotions towards the riolu, who was sensitive to emotions, even more so now that Mesprit had taken control of her.

"But… promise me you will survive, at least. Don't let it take you. I never bothered to have a life, preferring to help others to the top. I never had things that I did not need to survive, but you… You had a life, a family, everything you could need before the world was forced into this carnage. Promise me you will live."

Hope. Promise. Fulfillment. Raven blinked, and Mesprit's control was gone. Raven stared in horror at the dying absol, frozen in fear before she screamed his name and ran to him. "Jade!" she cried, and tried to find words, but could not.

She held him tightly, trying to find something, **anything** to say. "I'm so sorry… I did this to you! Why am I so-"

"Listen to me." Jade interrupted in a whisper. He sounded calm, though those emotions keeping Mesprit's powers at bay were flowing full force. "I do not want you to say that you are useless. Never say that." he continued. "Raven… you are strong, perhaps the strongest out of all of us, and all you need is the right push."

Raven was silent while Jade continued. "So don't you dare. Don't you dare call yourself useless. Your power is great, you are compassionate, kind, willing to help. You **can** help, even more than I ever could."

"Don't say that… Please don't say that."

"I don't care that your fists bloodied me." Jade informed the riolu "I care that you are safe. I care that you are still alive, that you will never be destroyed. You have your own will, your own emotions, your own knowledge, and these three fools… Can never truly take that away from you. You, of all people, are in control of yourself."

"B-but I wasn't. I wasn't strong enough, and now I did this!"

"And it will never happen again." Jade interrupted her once more. "Raven… I always knew that there was a power hidden beneath the self doubt I saw every single day that I knew you. I believed in you during many situations, and you never proved me wrong when it mattered. You fell to Mesprit's influence because you doubted things about yourself, because you contained those emotions, that willpower, that knowledge."

Silence for a while. Raven knew there were no bandages left, and that it was far too late. Jade paused as he coughed up a shocking amount of blood. "You will live. You will succeed." Jade murmured "Because I **trust** you."

 **Trust.**

The word and the feeling shot through her, her form shivering and her bones practically rattling in response. power began building in her chest until she glowed a brilliant white. Mesprit was forced to cover eyes at the glow, but Jade stared straight at her, uncaring as to whether he went blind.

Raven felt her bones and skin shudder and change. The pain seemed irrelevant to her, strangely, as her bones elongated and something protruded from her paws and chest. she felt herself grow heavier, stronger, **bigger**.

By the time Mesprit was able to look again, she saw that Raven had changed. Raven herself found herself to be towering above Jade, kneeled on the ground next to him. Her paws and chest had spikes protruding from them, and her fur was thicker, warmer. She was more heavily muscled, and felt far, far stronger.

Jade had a smile on his face. "I trust **you,** Raven. Not who you think you are, not who Mesprit tried to make you be, but **you**." he told her, before coughing up more blood and choking a bit.

Raven was too shocked to move, staring at Jade, practically unaware of her new form. He continued speaking. "We absol tend to live on our own, you know. If that was not a social tendency for us, I would likely have had as much contact with my parents as you have. As it was, they were always kind, always teaching me how to survive and help myself through things. However, there was one promise I had to make."

"...What was that promise?" Raven asked, desperate to keep him talking, to know that he was still alive.

"My father and mother made me promise that my reflector would never find it's way to their backs during their lifetime, their way of telling me 'don't you dare die before us'. But at this point, I would not have my time any other way. Even so, a promise is a promise, and…" he continued.

"There is only one place that my reflector fits." he decided "Only one place where it can be used to the best of its ability."

Raven had to lean in closer, as his voice was dropping in volume as he died. "Jade… Please don't die...:" she whispered.

"I don't have a choice, you know." Jade quipped with unusual attitude. "I trust you above all others now. I trust that you can be the catalyst to the end if this infernal war, this selfish quest by the immortals. Raven… There is no single person better suited to the task."

Raven began to understand. "No, Jade. Don't… There has to be a way to save you. Please, tell me how!"

"There is no way." Jade informed her, resignation clear in his voice. "I, Jade, gift the use of my reflector to Raven the Lucario, to be used to the best of her ability, to be used without hindrance and without harm to herself."

"No.."

"Let it fuse with her tools, her own gifts. Let if flow with her power, and what remains of mine. Let it defend her when she calls for it, and fight for it when she commands it. I gift my reflector to Raven the Lucario, for the remainder of her life or until it is once again gifted."

"Jade, please don't-"

"I release my own connection to the reflector, though it shall contain a portion of my own power, as a part of my gift. I am no longer it's owner. It's owner… is Raven the Lucario." he finished his incantation. The reflector glowed white and green, supposedly with some of his remaining life force.

Raven, despite her protests, could only watch as the disc above his back rose away from him. The four pointed star glowed white now, the green circle surrounding it also glowed, though the energy exterior ring did not glow. It floated slowly over and hovered four inches from Raven's right elbow, where it would stay. Her pendants glowed from their places at her wrists and neck.

Her pendants glowed a much brighter color than they usually would. The energy flowed from them like rivers of pure power. Red, light blue, royal blue. The power flowed around her before seeping into the reflector. The outer yellow portion of the disk itself changed to the same colors as the mingling energy, orange, very light blue, and royal blue. The inner circle and the four pointed star remained a constant glow in the center of the swirling energy, maintaining the calm and collected energy that Jade had once. The green and white glow showed the calm that the swirling, powerful energy around the edge most certainly did not.

Finally, the disc mingled with her aura, and Raven shuddered as she felt the weapon connect to her very soul. "...Use it well." Jade murmured, closing his eyes.

Raven lunged and wrapped the absol in a hug. "No!" she cried "Don't die, please don't die!"

"You will do the world proud." Jade murmured "There is nothing else I can give. I myself achieved nothing of value; I merely taught. Taught others, helped others. My energy keeps the more volatile energy of your pendants in check; they will no longer drain you. Our weapons have combined as a result. It is only similar to my weapon, but it is your weapon."

"I don't want a weapon! I want you to live!" Raven cried.

"but that is what cannot happen." Jade reasoned. "Lead everyone, and end this fighting. Know who you are. Do not doubt yourself, do not contain your emotions, your willpower, your knowledge. Promise me, Raven." he coughed a few more times, shuddering.

"Jade-"

"Promise me, Raven."

"...I… I promise…" Raven promised, crying as she kept the absol close, not caring that his blood was soaking into her fur and drying there. His pulse was fading out, and there wasn't a thing Raven could do about it.

"Thank you, Raven, for everything. It has been a pleasure serving and assisting you during our travels. Tell the others… The same." Jade whispered. "I think… I think it is time for me to rest now. Never, ever let someone else make your decisions, never falter."

"Please don't…" Raven's protest trailed off, as she realized that it was in vain. Nothing could magically bring him back to life. Tears did not have healing powers like stories might say. Emotion only empowered those sensitive to emotion, like the lucario line, or Mesprit.

"Peace is something I always yearned for…" Jade murmured "Now I can have it, and if you hold to your promises, so can everyone else. Don't do me proud, Raven… Do yourself proud instead. Make a world that you can be proud of, that everyone can be proud of. Thank you, for everything."

He fell silent. Raven held him tight, hoping that the warmth would keep him alive, grasping at straws, but after another minute, the pulse stopped. The remainder of his emotion died away, and Raven could no longer sense him.

The reflector hummed softly, consistently, at Raven's arm. It floated where it could be used as a shield, and a swinging motion would launch it. The last remainder of Jade's life glowed in the center portions of the material as the magical weapon spun slowly, though the energy swirling around it's edge spun faster.

Raven did not move for a long time, holding her friend, hoping it was all some sick dream of Mesprit's design… Mesprit. Because of her weakness, Mesprit had made her kill her best friend.

Raven's aura flared red now. She set Jade's body down slowly, letting him be in a resting position on his stomach and chest, lying on the ground. Then, she rose slowly.

Mesprit could not connect to the lucario. It was as if her emotions were under a deadlock, impervious, unchangeable. Raven turned her head, and Mesprit froze where she hovered at the look in the eye that she could see.

A deep fire burned in it, anger beyond measure. Her aura had gone red, her new reflector spinning faster as a reaction to her anger. She turned all the way around, much larger now than Mesprit, and now the small psychic type felt fear. Fear and apprehension at this imposing figure. Mesprit had understood the connection between the two, but now, she realized that the consequences would be quite severe.

Mesprit backed up as Raven took a step forward.

"Did you get what you so desperately wanted, Mesprit?" Raven asked, coldly. "Is **this** what you wanted?" Raven slowly stepped towards Mesprit, the fairy's face showing trace signs of fear, something she had not felt in a long time.

"I did what I had to do." Mesprit repli ed, putting as much charm into her voice as possible. "He was going to hurt me!" She continued, an innocent facade hiding her true self.

"You think me a fool? He was trying to stop you! To change your mind! To convince you to quit before you went too far!" Raven shouted, rage unlike any Mesprit had felt radiating off her very being, rage directed at Mesprit. Mostly. That was the loophole she needed. She smiled inwardly, and tapped into to her psychic abilities. She flared the rage directed towards a different source. The rage pointed towards Raven. Towards herself.

"You know the true villain." Mesprit started, directing accusation and anger towards the Lucario. "Was I the one who killed him? Who ended his life far too early? Who's fist's are covered in his blood?" Mesprit asked coldly, gesturing to the blood staining Raven's paws.

"I admit, a lot of the blame is my own to bare," the Lucario stared down in regret. "This could have been avoided. He could have still been alive."

"You were the one who murdered him. The one who could not control your own emotions. You're worthless! You don't deserve to live! You're nothing but a worthless killer!" Mesprit shouted, her eyes glowing pink with power. With a grunt, a large beam of psychic energy shot from the gem on her head.

Within moments, the beam made impact, a small explosion scattering dirt and smoke within a small radius where the Lucario stood.

"No… You're wrong," said a voice from within the smoke. Mesprit gaped in shock. The smoke instantly cleared, blown away by an unseen force. The Lucario stood there, unharmed, holding the reflector up as a shield. "I did kill him. I was not in control of my emotions. I did not believe in myself enough, allowing you to gain control. However! I will not make that same mistake twice! I'm not going to let you harm anybody else just for your own selfish desires!" With that, Raven charged.

Arms outstretched, Raven charged her paws with fire and dragon aura. Raven charged towards the fairy Mesprit gasped and initiated a protect, a pink shield acting as the only barrier between her and the enraged Lucario intent on her demise. Raven force palmed the shield, cracks splintering through it, Raven repeatedly striking the shield.

This Lucario was intent on her destruction. The relentless flurry of attacks continued to chip away at the barrier, Mesprit used this short window of time to charge up more power. The protect shattered. Mesprit smirked and unleashed another psychic blast, this time hitting Raven directly, who was thrown backwards several feet, collapsing. Mesprit smiled, and turned to leave.

"Wah!" Mesprit cried, a harsh, sudden impact on her back throwing her forward. She whipped her head around, and glared at the Lucario who had gotten back up.

"Never turn your back on an opponent until you are certain they are down. I am not, and will not be." Raven charged once more, Mesprit charging a psyshock attack in her tails this time, bringing them up to meet the Lucario's force palms. The two clashed, swinging and dodging fists, the auras of each trailing behind them, creating deadly trails of color mirroring the paths of their destructive intentions, neither able to land a hit.

"Irritating pest!" Mesprit grunted, as she charged psyshock in her arms as well, the aura reaching past her arms, acting as extensions, allowing her more range. Raven was trying her utmost to ensure she was not overpowered, but with four attacks all aimed at her simultaneously, she would not be able to continue much longer. With a grunt, Raven grabbed Jade's reflector. The reflector doubled as a shield and weapon, as she blocked the flurry of psychic punches and retaliated with its own deadly blade, swinging it like a sword.

The reflector's vicious edge was backing her up. "Enough wasting my time! Die already!" Mesprit shouted, launching a psybeam from the gem on her head. Raven quickly brought the reflector up to meet the blast, instead causing it to ricochet, hitting a tree in the distance.

Mesprit took this opportunity to float out of range of Raven's fists. Now several feet above the Lucario, Mesprit launched two powerful psybeams from her tails. Raven quickly held up the reflector to block the attacks, using the reflector to block one and a dragon force palm to stop the other.

Raven glared, letting go of the reflector, as she quickly swiped her paw in front of her. The reflector followed the rapid movements of her paw. Mesprit, caught by surprise, shrieked as is deadly blade hit her arm as she instinctively brought it up to protect her neck. Mesprit growled, launching a psybeam from her head gem.

Raven, blocked the attack with her arms, not having enough time to properly shield herself. The force sent her back several inches, Raven trying to resist further motion. Due to not having enough time to charge the attack, it ended soon. Raven lowered her arms, which were screaming in agony after the relentless attack, but she would not be deterred.

Raven began swiping her arm left, right, up, down, the reflectors edge perfectly matching her movements. Mesprit charging her tails with psyshock, to keep the deadly edge from damaging her further. The reflector was flying through the air, Mesprit's tails blocking it, while she devoted more energy to charging her head gem.

With a smirk, Mesprit slammed into the Lucario with a wave of pure psychic energy, as it wrapped around Raven, the Lucario stiffening as the psychic surrounded her entire being. Mesprit forced the psychic energy surrounding the Lucario upward, dragging Raven up with it. Raven groaned, trying her best to struggle from the grasp of the psychic energy, but her arms remained locked at her sides.

"Not so powerful now, are you?" Mesprit taunted. She then thrust the energy downward, forcing Raven to the ground with it. Raven groaned in pain as Mesprit thrust her up and down repeatedly. "This is what happens when you betray me!" Mesprit shouted, lifting Raven even higher into the air. With a scream, Raven was thrown to the ground with more ferocity than previously, creating a small crater in the ground and scattering a cloud of dirt.

Thinking quickly, and taking advantage of the momentary weakness, Raven searched her very being for the control of aura Lucario wield. She had a short window of time to release the psychic grip on her. Gathering the aura in chest, she screamed, releasing it all outward at once. The aura clashed with the psychic. Raven continued to feed energy into the aura, Mesprit fueling the psychic. Raven was fighting to gain control of herself again, Mesprit fighting to keep control. Still fueling the aura, still fighting for control, Raven forced herself off the ground, every limb feeling like lead. Slowly, she lifted her head. Mesprit gasped, and sent a fresh wave of stronger psychic energy down upon the struggling Lucario.

Raven groaned again, kneeling down. "No… I… will not… fail! I will not… be controlled once more!" Raven grunted.

"You have been my pawn! You _are_ my pawn! You yield to me!" Mesprit shouted, overloading the Lucario with even more psychic energy.

Raven weakly screamed, the psychic energy barely kept from crushing her. "No! I will not… let you harm… anyone else!" Raven cried in defiance. "I will defeat you!" she shouted, once again launching a protective field of aura, fighting off the relentless wave of psychic energy. Raven struggled up, her limbs rejecting any motion she tried to use them for. She would not be deterred though. Using what little strength she still retained, she flared the aura suppressing the motion of her arm, a blue glow surrounding it. She looked around, seeing the reflector on the ground a few feet away.

Not having the strength to speak, Raven swiped her fist quickly, the reflector reacted. It launched towards Mesprit, spinning faster than ever. Rage and determination fueling it. The blue aura surrounding Raven's arm launching outwards and following the reflector's path of destruction, a blue glow trailing behind it. Mesprit gasped as the disk directly hit her in the stomach, leaving a bleeding gash. Legendary pokemon were durable, however. A mere gash would not be enough. Mesprit panted, feeding energy into the gash, stopping the bleeding.

Both sides were exhausted, gasping for breath. "Hah… hah… I'll admit… You're more powerful than I expected… I don't plan to lose however." Mesprit panted.

"Hah… hah… Not the first time… I've been told that… I don't plan to lose either… I have a death to avenge…"

"Good luck with that, you worthless Lucario." Mesprit taunted, charging more psychic energy.

Preparing herself, Raven quickly threw the reflector like a frisbee, sending its spinning blade careening towards Mesprit. Mesprit stumbled in the air to get out of the way, sending a thin protect quickly up to shield herself. While Mesprit was in the protect, which would not fall immediately, Raven charged a dragon and fire force palm, then cupping her paws, letting the aura merge and intertwine. The auras swirled around each other, forming a sphere that continued to grow larger and larger. Blue and red aura flames were dancing on the surface of the sphere, making it appear untamed and uncontrollable.

Raven waited, feeding her energy into the sphere, waiting for the protect to fall. After about ten seconds of feeding the sphere, it was almost the size of Raven's head. The protect was cracking, unable to remain intact any longer. Mesprit hadn't been wasting time either though. The instant the protect fell, the enemies unleashed their attacks with a aura sphere and psybeam clashed, both attacks fighting for dominance, neither able to defeat the other.

Raven growled and grabbed Jade's reflector. She threw it again, the reflector curving towards Mesprit while she was still trying to keep the aura sphere from her. Mesprit gasped as she noticed the reflector careening towards her, attempting to block it with her psybeam, only succeeding in letting the aura sphere through. Unable to stop the reflector in time, it hit her directly on the gem on her head, cracking it, as she let out a scream of pain, recoiling. The multi colored aura sphere quickly followed, hitting her in the chest, the red and blue flames licking at her body as she let out another agonized scream.

Raven grabbed the reflector as it returned to her, throwing it once more, this time the with ice aura, the mingling colors on the edge turning completely light blue, as it flew towards the Mesprit. With a scream, Mesprit fell to the ground, the reflector hitting the gem on her head, the source of her emotional powers. Ice crept over the severely cracked gem, leaving her unable to use it.

Mesprit collapsed. This Lucario had just defeated her. The one who used to be her loyal pawn, had just defeated her. Mesprit groaned, and lifted her head from the dirt, to see Raven towering above her. "Hah… Hah… Well… Done." Mesprit gasped. "Go ahead. Kill me. Get your revenge."

"Why? Why did you do all this?" Raven asked slowly.

"Hah… I'm in charge of controlling emotions… Emotions like happiness, sadness, and… Love…" Mesprit started. "I have an important job, but no one ever knows or appreciates it. I worked myself to the bone, but no one cares. No one knows, I am always alone. I need someone to know me, to care about me. This is the only way to do it. I have an entire army that loves me. I succeeded."

"No. You didn't." Raven started, Mesprit flinching in surprise. "The emotions of loyalty and love you filled the hearts of your army with… Its nothing but a fake illusion."

"What do you mean? The emotions I filled the army with are true emotions, just like the emotions of any other creature that I created and manage." Mesprit asked, confused.

"No. They are not. You did nothing to earn those emotions. Sure, you created the emotions, and sure you manage them, preventing them from becoming too powerful, but there is a distinct difference between real emotions and what you are doing. You forced these emotions upon the pokemon. You offered them no choice. I know what it's like to feel alone. I do."

"No. You don't." Mesprit responded simply.

"Yes, I do. I know what it feels like. For years, I had no friends. No one to play with, no one to practice with… But that all changed when I made a real effort to make some friends on my journey. I didn't do anything other than be myself. I didn't try to force them to be my friends. I didn't act like anything I'm not. I was simply myself. You wore a fake mask. You act like someone you're not. You manipulate Pokemon… Forcing them to love and care about you. If you were to stop using this false influence, they would hate you for it. You know that."

"Whatever. When I die, my influence on them will be cut off. I suppose with my gem cracked, that will happen soon enough anyway… Go ahead. Kill me! I have nothing to live for anymore. In a matter of months, a new Mesprit will be born. You won't lose anything. Go ahead. Do it." Mesprit said, resigning to her fate.

"You took control of me. You made me turn on my friends! You made me kill Jade! Jade is dead now! My best friend is gone! Because of you! And for that, you don't deserve to live!" Raven shouted, lifting her force palm, preparing to end Mesprit's life. Mesprit closed her eyes in acceptance.

Suddenly, amidst all her anger, she felt… Calm… Relaxed… The anger diminished, being replaced by calm and relaxation. Raven looked at Jade's reflector. The green glow had grown brighter, covering the entire reflector in a green aura. Raven smiled. This must be the results of Jade's life force. Calmly, Raven looked to Mesprit.

"You know what? I am angry at you, true… But that doesn't mean you have to die because of it." Mesprit gaped. She had just stolen her best friend away from her, had taken control of her very being, and Raven wasn't going to kill her for it?

"Why?" Mesprit asked, shocked. She had committed many unforgivable deeds. The kinds of deeds anyone should kill her over. They wouldn't lose anything from her death, so why was this Lucario sparing her?

"It won't change anything. Like you said, your army will turn on you either way, you can no longer control emotions. And it won't bring Jade back. If I were to kill you, Jade would still be dead. I don't think Jade would want me to kill you either. So I won't."

"What?" Mesprit gasped, beginning to sob in both regret and relief. Raven had trusted that Absol. He was her best friend, and Mesprit had stolen him from her, and worse, had forced Raven to kill him herself. Yet, Raven was sparing her. All because it wouldn't bring him back. All because Jade wouldn't want her to. She didn't want revenge. Mesprit had wanted revenge for not being appreciated. Raven didn't want revenge after being forced to murder her friend. "I- I'm sorry..." Mesprit sobbed, horrible understanding dawning on her. "I have erred beyond redemption."

"I admit, you have created new enemies for yourself." Raven responded. "But not beyond the point of no return. Make an effort to atone for your sins. It will take a lot of work, but if you give an honest effort, I bet, overtime, they will forgive you."

"I… I… Thank you…" Mesprit sobbed further. "I promise… I will do my best. To make sure you don't regret sparing me."

Raven nodded "I shall hold you to that. And here. Eat a sitrus berry. You look awful." Raven said, taking two sitrus berries out of her bag, handing one to Mesprit. The two took a few minutes to recuperate a small amount of strength.

"Thank you, Raven. I am sorry for all the grief I have caused."

"Being sorry is the first step to redemption. I am more than willing to forgive you. I can see you mean what you say."

With that, Raven turned from the exhausted Mesprit. Raven looked at Jade's body. The dead body of her best friend. She knelt down, once more picking her friend up. His face looked so peaceful. Raven carried his body to the large lake, using the pure water to clean the dirt and blood off his fur. She didn't stop until his fur was a perfect white, all evidence of battle having been washed away.

She looked around, spotting an elevated formation of brown rocks with a flattened top. Perfect. Once again picking up Jade's body, Raven carried him up to the formation of rocks overlooking the lake. Gathering her energy, Raven charged her elemental powers, feeding ice and dragon into her paws simultaneously, unlike most time where they were each in separate paws, the two auras mingled and mixed.

Suddenly, a pink aura enveloped Jade, holding him in the standing position about two feet off the ground. Raven whipped her head around, to see Mesprit still on the ground, this time facing Raven. The gems on her tails were glowing, as she smiled. "This is the least I can do to help me begin to atone for my mistakes." She said, nothing but sincerity and regret emanating from her.

Raven smiled, turning back to Jade's floating form. She raised her paws, feeding more energy into them. WIth a small shout, she brought her paws to the ground with all her might, as ice started to sprout from the ground. The ice marched up Jade's paws, Raven feeding more and more energy into her fists. The ice continued to climb up Jade, reaching his chest. Then his neck. Then his head, finally covering the tip of his horn, continuing up from there for another foot.

Raven gasped, and backed up. In front of her stood an icicle, with a dark blue hue to it, yet still translucent enough to see clearly who lay inside. The ice covered a two foot radius from every side of Jade, the edges flat and smooth. It looked like a crystal more than an icicle. Inside the crystal, stood Jade. His face was so… peaceful. He almost appeared to be sleeping. This was Raven's gift to him. A resting place of dragon ice, which, similar to dragon fire, would last forever, susceptible to neither attacks nor weather.

Feeding a small amount of fire aura into the tip of the spike on her right paw, before the dragon ice properly froze permanently, Raven charged dragon ice in her left paw, striking the ice a foot off the ground, causing a small portion to edge forward. On it, using the tip of her spike, Raven engraved the following:

 _ **Jade**_

 _ **A True Hero**_

 _ **A True Friend**_

"Thank you Mesprit," Raven turned to the fairy. "You wouldn't mind if I came for a visit every now and again?"

"Certainly not. You are probably the only soul that doesn't hate me right now. A little company would be welcome when this ordeal is over. I will do my best to ensure that time comes soon." Mesprit replied with a small smile.

"Thank you. We shall meet again in the near future then." Raven replied, turning one last time to view the peaceful form of Jade. It was time to return to her friends. "Goodbye, Jade, thanks for being my best friend."


End file.
